


Two for a Kiss

by chiiyo86



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Flirting, Kissing, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-10 16:32:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13505409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiiyo86/pseuds/chiiyo86
Summary: Nina gives Inej a hand, and gets something in return.





	Two for a Kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saiditallbefore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saiditallbefore/gifts).



> It ended up having not as much pretend relationship as I originally intended, but I hope you'll enjoy this treat anyway!

"So you've named your blades? That's cool."

Erin was a rail-thin, bony girl with a mop of yellow hair and startling green eyes. She was obviously aware that her eyes were her only asset, because she'd been batting them at Inej for the past half-hour. It was rare for Inej to linger at the Slat with the rest of the Dregs. This was part of what had earned her the nickname of "The Wraith", in top of her ability to move silently. She was a phantom that lived quietly at the periphery, and she usually preferred it that way. She hated crowds and the Dregs could be a rowdy bunch. But tonight they'd landed a big job and they were riding the high of knowing that they were flush, all of them crowded in the common area on the ground floor. 

Kaz had retreated to his ivory tower on the top floor and it was unlikely he'd reappear. Jesper was the life of the party, caught in a boisterous game of Three Man Bramble with Roeder and Big Bolliger. Which left Inej alone at the mercy of Erin's attempts at flirting, and she was growing increasingly uncomfortable. She was used to fending off unwanted attention--the ones who'd tried before had been quickly introduced to the blessing of Sankt Petyr's cool blade and had never attempted anything similar again. But Erin was a rather sweet girl on the whole, at least for the crowd they were running with, clumsy but well-meaning. She seemed to be oblivious to the signals Inej had been sending her, but it didn't mean that Inej wanted to hurt her. 

"Can I see them?" Erin tried again, apparently unfazed by the fact that Inej hadn't reacted to her previous comment. "I like knives. I think I'll try to find myself some, now that I have some funds."

"It's getting late," Inej said, pushing back her chair. "I think I'll go back to my--"

"Aww, Inej, stay a little longer." 

Erin grabbed Inej's wrist to keep her from leaving and Inej stilled completely. She cast Erin a look, and the girl must have seen something in her eyes that alerted her, because she dropped Inej's wrist immediately. It wasn't enough to make her fully back off, though, and she kept trying to convince Inej to stay, batting her eyes some more and pursing her lips. Inej thought to herself that someone must have given the poor girl very bad advice on how to seduce. She was also thinking that she would need to resort to harsh bluntness, if not physical violence, if she wanted Erin to finally get a hint.

"This lot is too noisy," Erin said, waving emphatically at the rest of the gang. "If you wanted to get away, we could go to my room and--"

Inej took a breath, ready to tell Erin in no uncertain terms what she thought of her proposal, when she felt a sudden presence at her side. She recognized the rose perfume immediately and wasn't surprised when she heard Nina's voice. 

"Are you making a move on my girl, Egger?" Nina said.

"What?" Erin said, unknowingly echoing Inej's own thought of _what?_

"You heard me," Nina said, smiling sweetly.

Slowly, probably to give Inej time to get used to it, Nina wrapped an arm around her waist. After the first moment of instinctive resistance Inej's body relaxed, recognizing Nina as a familiar and unthreatening presence. Erin's beautiful eyes were fixed on where Nina's hand rested on Inej's hip, her pale eyebrows knitted in a frown. 

"Is that true, Inej?" Erin asked.

"It's--" Nina leaned into Inej's side and silky hair caressed her cheek. "It's true. I'm sorry, Erin."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Erin said, a whine to her voice. "You let me make a fool of myself!"

"I'm sorry," Inej repeated, trying to quell the spark of pity she felt. "I don't like talking about my private life."

"Now, find yourself someone else to sweet-talk, will you?" Nina said, wriggling her fingers at Erin as a goodbye.

Erin rose from her chair, scowling. "I hope someone gets you down a peg or two, Zenik," she said with a sniff, and Inej decided her pity was better employed somewhere else. 

She sat back in her chair, in the shadowed corner that she'd chosen for herself before Erin came and disturbed her peace. Nina sat with her; somehow, her arm hadn't moved from Inej's waist.

"I was handling it," Inej said.

"The words are 'thank you, Nina dear.'"

Inej laughed. "Thank you, Nina dear," she said, pitching her voice high and false.

"You're very bad at this," Nina said, wrinkling her nose. "I don't sound anything like that."

"No, you don't. You always sound very suave."

"Erin is a podge; she needs someone to teach her manners."

"She's always been nice enough to me."

"I bet she was. You better watch your back from now on. She's more vicious than she looks."

"You know you can let go of me, now."

Nina slanted a look at her. "Do you want me to?"

Her smile was slow and lazy, her cheeks slightly flushed, and Inej could smell a whiff of alcohol mingled with her perfume. 

"How much did you have to drink?" she asked.

"Enough to be bold, not enough that I don't know what I'm doing, if that's what you're asking."

Was Nina flirting with her? Flirting was her favorite language among the several ones that she spoke. Inej had even seen her try it on Kaz and not be perturbed by the icy indifference she was met with. She knew Nina never meant much by it. Still, as Nina kept looking at her Inej felt herself blush to her roots for no reason. Nina's rose perfume was getting to her head, making her dizzy.

"Tell me to move away," Nina whispered, her warm breath tickling the shell of Inej's ear.

The last time anyone had held her so intimately, she had been one of the Menagerie's beautiful dolls and her mind had done its best to vacate her body. This time, she felt too aware; of Nina's floral scent, of the warmth of her body, of her arm loosely coiled around Inej, of the rich tones of her voice, amused but affectionate at the same time. 

"It's fine this way," she said tersely.

She felt Nina's lips brush her cheek. Her heart pounding, Inej glanced around the room. From their vantage point she could see it in its entirety, which was why she'd chosen that spot. Erin was gone, maybe back to her room to sulk. The rest of the gang wasn't paying them any attention. Nina dropped a series of kisses along her jaw, each one light as a butterfly but getting inexorably closer to her mouth. Inej hadn't had a drop of alcohol and yet she felt drunk too, spinning out of control. She didn't want Nina to stop but something kept her from doing anything to encourage her or to reciprocate, so she merely stayed still, relaxing by increments into Nina's embrace. Nina pressed a kiss at the corner of Inej's mouth, and then another one right on her lips. 

No one was looking--or maybe someone was, because for a moment Inej forgot to check her surroundings. At least no one said anything. Nina was holding her firmly, and Inej could feel her friend's generous breasts fit snuggly against her own chest as Nina kissed her. Her lips tasted of prune alcohol. When she released Inej, Nina's cheeks were a bright red and her eyes were sparkling.

"Today was my birthday," she said in a conspiratorial voice.

"Oh." Inej's brain needed a few seconds to start working again. "Oh, happy birthday. If you'd told me, I would have--"

"Don't worry," Nina said. "You already gave me your present."

She looked so pleased with herself that Inej couldn't help laughing. She felt light and giddy, and had stopped regretting joining the Dregs for the celebration. Maybe, when her birthday came, she would ask Nina for a kiss too.


End file.
